The best way to sell anything is to tell stories. Even stories that are only partially true are okay as long as you don’t mislead anyone. If our selling process involves answering your client’s questions with simple one and two-line answers then you’re missing the boat, ENTIRELY! If a client asks “how many miles does a vehicle like this normal do before it starts having issues?” and you answer “usually 100,000 or so” then you’ve probably lost the sale.
However, if your answer is more relatable and real, you’ll build a deeper trust and relationship. For example, “Well Mr. Client, I sold one of these vehicles last year to a guy who drives a three-state area for his job and as of last month, he was approaching 100,000 miles and is yet to have a major issue. Now of course he comes in for his regularly scheduled maintenance, which is free up to 60,000 miles (notice a little “features and benefits” selling right there…)”. If it was me, I wouldn’t even stop there. I would add another story and another until I could tell the client was tired of my stories… “And I had another client who bought a vehicle from me two months ago, and he traded one of these in. It had well over 100,000 miles on it and was in great shape”. If you’re newer in business and don’t have any stories of your own borrow one from a co-worker. You’ll just have to start the story “We have a client that…”.
The reason why stories work so well is that they evoke emotion in the listener. Remember that people buy from people they know, like and trust. If you tell a well-crafted story that the listener can relate to then they’ll get to know you little better, they’ll probably like you a little more (because who doesn’t like a good story) and they’ll likely trust you more. This last part is because you’ll lay down some evidence that you’ve helped someone else in a similar way. When we spend our money, we want to feel something. We want an experience. Having a couple of good stories as a part of your selling process will accomplish that.
“Name-dropping” stories are even better. If a client were to ask what success other mechanic shops have seen with my product, I’ll “name-drop” the heck out of it. I’ll name any that I’ve sold to plus any other related business that have bought a similar product.
Remember, sales by proxy and a little embellishment are okay. As long as you don’t mislead anyone, it’s okay to go a little over board to improve your credibility. If someone in my office has recently sold an impressive account, I’ll share that story and say “we” just began working with “so-and-so”.
Let me know if you liked this article…
Daniel
